This article considers the utility of resources designed to assist people undertaking their own legal work. Four in-depth case studies are used to explore the tensions inherent in providing coherent and user-oriented resources to legal self-helpers in environments where service providers attempt to convey complex legal information, knowledge and skills to people at the point of legal exigency. The needs of the consumer for basic process oriented and solutions focused resources do not always coincide with the objectives of providers to impart sufficient legal knowledge, information and skills to allow the consumer to work through those processes as an informed citizen.